5.3 Icons
USAF Application Styles
The following icons are an aggregate of USAF applications and labeled accordingly. When selecting new icons, choose only from a single “family” to retain consistency, or match the characteristics of your pre-existing icon set. An icon family is usually created by the same designer, and each icon will have similar complexity, line weight, repeating elements, and themes.
When selecting new icons, choose only from a single family to retain consistency, or match the characteristics of your pre-existing icon set. A good practice is ensuring the icons fit within the same square, having matching line weight / complexity when compared at the same size.
Alpha Standard
The following example component illustrates the best practices outlined previously, with the practical choices that make it so.
- Clear meaning. Icon designs favor obvious over clever, communicating one- or two-word concepts in culturally established standards.
- Simple design. Limited visual complexity improves scannability, plus the ability to scale up and down as contexts require.
- Standardization. Stylistic similarities between icons (complexity, line weight, repeating elements) improve the coherence of the design system. These styles are made consistent within an icon family.
Example Icon Classifications
Disclaimer: Please default to USAF application styles; these component standards are to be used only if those assets are not applicable or not available.